Friday, July 26, 2013

Many times at Know Your LGBT History, the posts are not celebratory but passages of history we need to know. In the 80s, many people didn't know what HIV/AIDS was and there was a lot of fear and repulsion because the disease exacerbated the stigma against lgbts by pushing the implication that they were nasty people and God was punishing them.

However, on July 25, 1985, many people got a serious shock to their system when it was announced by the publicist of legendary actor Rock Hudson that he had AIDS. Though he at first speculated that he caught it through a blood transfusion, soon after his death later that year, the open secret of his homosexuality became public.

The legacy of Hudson dying from AIDS brought the disease from the shadows to the public eye and forced many people who wouldn't talk about it - including Hudson's friend, President Reagan - to at least realize that this disease couldn't be thought of as a deserved sentence given to a bunch of so-called "undesirables."

Shortly after his death, People reported: "Since Hudson made his
announcement, more than $1.8 million in private contributions (more than
double the amount collected in 1984) has been raised to support AIDS
research and to care for AIDS victims (5,523 reported in 1985 alone). A
few days after Hudson died, Congress set aside $221 million to develop a
cure for AIDS."
Organizers of the Hollywood AIDS benefit, Commitment to Life, reported
after Hudson's announcement that he was suffering from the disease, it
was necessary to move the event to a larger venue to accommodate the
increased attendance

The following item from a Family Research Council email caught my eye:

A controversial proposal in San Antonio may be the first step to
banning Christians from public office! In a move that took locals
completely by surprise, the city council is proposing a sweeping ordinance
that would disqualify anyone who has ever "demonstrated a bias" from
serving on local boards or commissions. The measure, which some have
couched as an "updated non-discrimination" policy, suggests that "No
person shall be appointed to a position if the city council finds that
such person has, prior to such proposed appointment, engaged in
discrimination or demonstrated a bias, by word or deed, against any
person, group or organization on the basis of race, color, religion,
national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, age, or disability."

Several Texas pastors are outraged by the measure, which seems to
prohibit any religious or even nonbelieving conservatives from serving
the city simply for holding a natural view of marriage and sexuality. At
no point does the proposal define what a "bias" is, instead leaving it
open to the subjective interpretation of the council. On top of barring
those people from public service, the ordinance also outlaws city
contracts with those deemed "intolerant" to the classes listed.

And not to be outdone by its counterpart, the American Family Association is also sounding the alarm by claiming that the ordinance would bar Christians from serving public office:

According to Pastor Charles Flowers of Faith Outreach International, the city leaders want to add two categories to the policy: sexual orientation and gender identity.
“The ordinance also says that if you have at any point demonstrated a bias – without defining what a bias is or who will determine whether or not one has been exercised – that you cannot get a city contract,” he tells OneNewsNow. “Neither can any of your subcontractors [who have demonstrated a bias] sign on to the contract.”
Moreover, according to a draft of the revised policy, no one who has spoken out against homosexuality or the transgender lifestyle can run for city council or be appointed to a board.

Of course this claim is a lie and it sounds like a desperate one if you ask me. According to Equality Matters:

. . . the San Antonio proposal simply adds sexual orientation and gender
identity to existing civil rights protections. As Councilman Diego
Bernal, the proposal's sponsor, told the San Antonio Express-News,
the sole aim of the proposed ordinance is to ensure that city officials
don't "reserve the legal right to" discriminate against individuals on
the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Only the
obsessively conspiracy-minded would see in the ordinance a sinister plot
against Christians. Alas, "obsessively conspiracy-minded" is a fair
description of much of the right-wing media.

Paralleling the misguided right-wing attacks on ENDA,
several pastors have claimed that the proposal poses a threat to
religious liberty. They - and their right-wing media allies - have
seized on the language pertaining to those who have "demonstrated a
bias" against any of the protected groups, claiming that merely holding
conservative religious views on homosexuality could lead to charges of
bias and disqualification from city office. As reported
in the WND (World Net Daily) article, local pastors are concerned that the ordinance
would "prohibit those that speak their religious beliefs regarding
homosexuality from serving on city boards."

That horror story isn't supported by the evidence. San Antonio's
current ordinance hasn't been used to police city officials' personal
views on race, gender, or religion. That's because the ordinance is
meant to prohibit clear cases of professional discrimination and bias -
not bad personal thoughts.

So, to reiterate, there is no potential ordinance in San Antonio which will bar Christians from public office and any organization pushing this claim is merely exploiting the ignorance and fear of its supporters.

In other words, plan on hearing this lie from members of the religious right consistently over the next few days.

About Me

Alvin McEwen is 46-year-old African-American gay man who resides in Columbia, SC.
McEwen's blog, Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters, and writings have been mentioned by Americablog.com, Goodasyou.org, People for the American Way, PageOneQ.com, The Washington Post, Raw Story, The Advocate, Media Matters for America, Crooksandliars.com, Thinkprogress.org, Andrew Sullivan's Daily Dish, Melissa Harris-Perry, The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell, Newsweek, The Daily Beast, The Washington Blade, and Foxnews.com.
In addition, he is also a past contributor to Pam's House Blend,Justice For All, LGBTQ Nation, and Alternet.org. He is a present contributor to the Daily Kos and the Huffington Post,
He is the 2007 recipient of the Harriet Daniels Hancock Volunteer of the Year Award and the 2010 recipient of the Order of the Pink Palmetto from the SC Pride Movement as well as the 2009 recipient of the Audre Lorde/James Baldwin Civil Rights Activist Award from SC Black Pride. In addition, he is a three-time nominee of the Ed Madden Media Advocacy Award from SC Pride.